Background: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group is currently developing
computerized adaptive testing measures for the Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (QLQ-C30) scales. The work presented
here describes the development of an EORTC item bank for emotional functioning (EF), which is one of the core domains of the
QLQ-C30.

Methods: According to the EORTC guidelines on module development, the development of the EF item bank comprised
four phases, of which the phases I-III are reported in the present paper.Phase I involved defining the theoretical framework
for the EF item bank and a literature search. Phase II included pre-defined item selection steps and a multi-stage expert
review process. In phase III, feedback from cancer patients from different countries was obtained.

Results: On the
basis of literature search in phase I, a list of 1750 items was generated. These were reviewed and further developed in phase
II with a focus on relevance, redundancy, clarity, and difficulty. The development and selection steps led to a preliminary
list of 41 items. In phase III, patient interviews (N = 41; Austria, Denmark, Italy, and the UK) were conducted with the preliminary
item list, resulting in some minor changes to item wording. The final list comprised 38 items.

Discussion: The phases
I-III of the developmental process have resulted in an EF item list that was well accepted by patients in several countries.
The items will be subjected to larger-scale field testing in order to establish their psychometric characteristics and their
fit to an item response theory model.

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations

If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let
the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible
and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library, or send a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
You will be contacted as soon as possible.